CEnTRal bOSnIa CanTOn

Travnik

Geographical position

Central Bosnia Canton, with its central position in the country, is a place where Bosnian and European roads meet. The Canton is char-acterized by extremely mountainous and hilly area going from 300m above sea level to 1,922m. The center of Canton government is Travnik.

Area: 3,199km2

Climate

Central Bosnia Canton is characterized by mountain continental cli-mate with micro-climates influenced by the river valleys and altitude. The average annual temperature in Travnik is 10.2°C with July being the warmest month with average temperature of 20.2°C and January the coldest with average of -0.7°C.

Population

By the preliminary date provided by 2013 census, 273,149 people are living in Central Bosnia Canton, with 57,543 living in the wider urban area of Travnik.

Tourism Association of Central Bosnia Canton: www.tzsbk.com

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By airThe closest airport is Sarajevo International Airport, approximate-ly 90km away from Travnik.

By roadCentral Bosnia Can-ton is on the highway M-5 making it one of the best connected parts of the country. With its mountanous topography, driving can be demanding at times, but there are lots of places to rest on the way and the

nature by the road is beautiful.

Because of it’s cen-tral position Central Bosnia Canton has a pretty good bus lines connecting it inside the Canton and to the other parts of the country and Most of the stops on the route through the Canton are neither first or last, so travelers are advised to take good care not to miss their desired location.

Getting there

Accommodation Travnik

Most accommodation in Central Bosnia Canton is not luxury, but there are five 3-star hotels in Travnik. Jajce, the most important touristic town in the Canton, can offer a hotel, a hostel and private accommodation as well as the accommodation in the auto camp Plivska Lake. If you are looking for the place to rest, Aquareumal in Fojnica, where spa tourism is practiced for last 2000 years, is the obvious choice. Mountain of Vlašić, being the ski resort, offers several accommodation options as well.

Films shot here: THE DEMOLITION SQUAD (1967), Hajrudin Krvavac; THE BATTLE ON RIVER NERETVA (1969), Veljko Bulajić; ALIVE AND THE DEAD (2007), Kristijan Milić.

Travnik

Travnik, the center of Central Bosnia Canton, was the capital city of the governors of Bosnia from 1699 to 1850, and has a cultural heritage dating from that period. It was one of fortified towns in the region and its fortress Kaštel is today’s old town sector. Travnik is the birthplace of bh. writer and Nobel Prize win-ner Ivo Andrić. His home was reconstructed and opened as a museum in 1974.

Colorful Mosque

“The Demolition Squad”

Sulejmanija mosque (Colorful mosque)

Sulejmanija is called “Col-orful Mosque” because of the unusual art decora-tion of the interior and ex-terior walls. It is located in Travnik, in the Lower Čaršija. In the ground floor of the mosque the bezistan (usually covered market for haberdashery and craftsmanship) can be found. Sulejmanija is a unique example of Ot-toman architecture as the same building is used both for religious and secular purposes.

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The catacombs are situated inside the city walls. It is believed that duke Hrvoje Vukčević built it at the end of 14th century to serve as private church and mausoleum for him and his family. In 2003 Catacombs were officially declared a national monu-ment of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Catacombs in Jajce

Travnik Fortress

Vlašić

Jajce

Travnik Fortress was built in the first half of the 15th century during the Bosnian kings Ostoja or Tvrtko II Kotromanić. It is not known how the Turks conquered it, but it is

known at they upgraded and ex-panded the fort. It is considered to be one of the best preserved for-tresses in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Vlašić is a mountain famous for its pastures cattle-breeding and cheese, overlooking the town of Travnik. Its highest peak is Paljenik with an eleva-tion of 1,943m and it provides excellent conditions for skiing, snowboard-ing and other winter sports. It is also a popular destination for summer and eco tourism due to many hiking trails and areas of undisturbed wilderness.

This city on conflu-ence of rivers Pliva and Vrbas, was built in 14th century and served as the capital of the independent Bosnian Kingdom. Beside its natural beauty and unique architecture Jajce is famous for be-ing a place where the 2nd session of the Anti-Fascist Council of the National Liberation of Yugoslavia was held on 29 November 1945. Resolutions ratified that BiH, as an equal federal unit, would en-ter Yugoslavia.

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Pliva Lakes

Only a few kilometers from Jajce, in natural surroundings, Pliva River flows first into larger of two lakes, Ve-liko Plivsko Jezero (Big

Jajce Fortress

Jajce Fortress was built around the 14th century. On the south-west is an entrance adorned with the royal coat of arms. The fortress covers an area of 11,200m2 and the length of the walls is 1,300m. and has been repaired and rebuilt many times.

Pliva Lake), and then into smaller one Malo Plivsko Jezero (Little Pliva Lake). Besides amazing beauty these lakes offer oppor-tunities for fishing, kayak-ing, canoeing, diving and swimming.

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Church of St. Mary was built in the Romanesque style, which is characteristic of 11th to mid-13th century architecture. Until the mid 15th century church was without a belfry, or the former bell tower was demolished, and a new built when relics of St. Luke the Evangelist came to Jajce. The last Bosnian king Stjepan Tomašević was crowned in this church. It has not been opera-tional since the late 19th century.

Fojnica

Church of St. Mary with St. Luke BelfryŠipovo

In addition to beautiful rivers Pliva and Janj, Šipovo is graced by the lush na-ture of the surrounding lakes, brooks and pastures. Šipovo is dominated by mountain Vitorog, which hides Vagan Cave at its foot of Vitorog. Approxi-mately 20km away from the town is the rain forest Janj, one of the four rain forests in Europe.

Bugojno

Prokoško Lake

Prokoško Lake is located 22km away from Fojinica, on the Vranica Moun-tain, at the altitude of 1,636m. This glacial lake is surrounded by mild slopes and fields ideal for comfort-able hiking and is home to endemic species – blind cave salamander and endemic lizard – triton. Traditional shepherds settlement (known as ka-tun) is being slowly turned into tour-ist place where anybody can come and enjoy traditional way of living.

Film: “Alive and The Dead”

Vagan cave

Bugojno is a town situated by the river Vrbas, 570m above sea level. To the west of the town is Koprivica region. This enormous forest was once one of Marshal Tito’s favorite hunting spots. The uninhabited dense forest has created a sanctuary for wild animals and hunting asso-ciations are very active in this region.

Fojnica is a town know for spa tourism. It lies in the valley of the Fojnička River and besides spa it is famous for being the home of Holy Spirit Fran-ciscan Monastery which houses an important part of the nation’s cultural heritage, including a large library of philosophical and theological works from 16th to 19th centuries, with some dating back to 1481.

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